


The Path to a Dragon's Heart

by Moon_Blitz



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Alternate Universe - MMO, Euroshipping, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-06
Updated: 2018-02-06
Packaged: 2019-03-14 19:50:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13597131
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moon_Blitz/pseuds/Moon_Blitz
Summary: Ryou playedDuel Monsters Onlinefor fun. He never expected to become friends with, much less be in debt to, its developer, Kaiba Seto.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Lilyliegh](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lilyliegh/gifts).



Ryou preordered _Duel Monsters Online_ the day it was announced. Heralded to be the biggest MMO to date and the first game to take full advantage of Kaiba Corp.’s new virtual reality hardware, Ryou spent the months leading up to launch day pouring over every news article, magazine and forum post he could find, soaking up any tidbit of information. He had the added advantage of having Kaiba Seto himself as a classmate, but never asked him anything directly – Kaiba was so aloof that he wouldn’t have answered Ryou’s questions, and he had a feeling the teenage CEO looked down on him because he was friends with Yuugi and the others.

Thankfully, the game launched on a Saturday, meaning that Ryou only had to suffer through half a day of classes before he got to play. The game was the talk of Domino High, and the teachers had threatened to suspend anyone who skipped class without a doctor’s note or other legitimate reason. Supervising the launch of his new game must have been such a reason, for Kaiba was the only one absent from their class.

Ryou said a hurried goodbye to Yuugi at the school gates before making a beeline for home. Once there, he slipped off the jacket of his school uniform, put on the VR headset, stretched out on his bed and closed his eyes. The menu came into view a moment later and he quickly selected the icon for _Duel Monsters Online_ and launched the game.

Ryou suddenly found himself floating in an endless white void facing a mirror with a faceless person reflected in it. Grinning, he knew he had left his body behind and was now in the virtual world.

“Welcome to Duel Monsters Online. Please select your avatar.” a calm female voice said from the void. Raising his hands, Ryou began the long process of designing his virtual self. First, pale blue hair similar in style to his own but longer and spikier, then bright green eyes to contrast with his hair; a slim figure with rounded facial features, and finally, his class. Ryou had chosen it months ago, and he he proudly selected Mage from the list of starting classes. Grey robes suddenly enveloped him, and he smiled as he examined the green ankh hieroglyph stitched on his chest and front of his hat. Perfect.

All that was left was to enter his character name, and Ryou took a few moments to decide on his final choice. “Myaku,” he finally murmured, the name appearing in gold along the bottom of his mirror. It was a different pronunciation of one of the kanji that made up his family name, and he thought it fitted his character. A quick double-check of everything, and then he logged in.

The white void faded away to reveal the starting city of the game. <Tenba City> popped up in the lower corner of his vision, but he was too busy staring up at the tall European-style castle looming over the city to really notice. It was a huge mass of stone and towers, made to look even bigger since it was built on a cliff overlooking the city. He could see a grand staircase leading up to it, and immediately resolved to visit as soon as he could. Only then did he focus on the town itself, and the mass of players and NPCs around him.

Many looked absolutely stunned and were looking around with an expression of awe on their faces. Probably their first time in VR, Ryou thought smugly, carefully edging through the crowd of new players. He had been an early adopter of VR and so was used to it by now, but even he had to admit that this game was like nothing he had ever played before. He wondered if Yuugi and Jounouchi were in the crowd somewhere – Yuugi’s grandfather has gotten some VR gear for his shop, and Jounouchi had been boasting that he was allowed to use one in exchange for helping run the store.

Ryou spent the next hour exploring Tenba City, poking around in the shops and doing a few beginner’s quests. One of the quests involved going to the castle, and he eagerly set out towards it. The climb up the winding staircase was a long one, but Ryou took his time and enjoyed the view of the area surrounding the city. Forest stretched away to one side, curving around the cliff and out of sight, while clumps of trees slowly gave way to grassland on the other. Typical game settings, but he didn’t care. He would explore it all.

Arriving at the castle gates, the tag <Tenba Castle – Courtyard> appeared, and he paused to look around. Knight NPCs were guarding the main gates and the passage leading into the castle, lances held firmly in one hand as they watched the players wander around. The courtyard itself was paved with stone and sectioned into smaller pieces by neatly-trimmed bushes, a fountain in the centre bringing a sense of harmony to it all. Ryou strolled along the path leading to the castle itself, smiling as he listened to the chatter of the players around him.

“It’s so big!”

“Do you think there are any cool quests here?”

“I wonder if I can steal items?”

“That king is kinda weird...”

<Tenba Castle – Main Hall> came next, and Ryou paused to admire the paintings and tapestries that adorned the walls. He thought about going to meet the king, as directed by the quest, but he decided to look around first. The mage descended to the dungeons, but found his way blocked by an imposing guard. A future quest location, he surmised, peering into the gloom behind the guard. Hopefully there were skeletons down there.

Various rooms of the castle came next, and he received a few healing items and some money from the NPC servants wandering around. Finally, he mounted the stairs to the top of the castle, reaching the ramparts via a ladder. To his surprise, another player was already up there, gazing out over the city.

Even without reading the name in silver hovering above the player, Ryou knew who it was. “Kaiba-san?” The sunlight glittered off of Kaiba’s white helmet as he turned, and he saw it was shaped like the head of a Blue Eyes White Dragon. The rest of his outfit was similar to a trenchcoat, but with added bits of armour on the forearms, chest, and legs, all done to resemble dragon scales. Typical Kaiba, really.

Seeing that Kaiba was staring at him, Ryou shifted and said, “I’m Bakura Ryou, your classmate.”

“...Right. Bakura.” Kaiba returned to looking out over the city, but Ryou wasn’t about to be dismissed that easily. Wandering over to the edge of the rampart, he leaned against the sun-warmed stone and gazed down at Tenba. It really was magnificent, he thought, examining the European-style buildings and picking up the Egyptian elements scattered around the city.

Kaiba huffed at his lingering presence, but didn’t move away or leave, and so they spent a few minutes watching the bustle and hustle of the virtual world. Finally Ryou stretched out his hands in front of him, fingers laced together as he felt the pull on his wrists and shoulders. “Thanks for creating this world, Kaiba-san! Message me if you ever want to quest together!” He was down the ladder before Kaiba had a chance to respond.

\- - -

Kaiba was in class the following Monday morning, immersed in a book as Ryou entered. As he passed, he swore he caught Kaiba looking at him, but cheerfully ignored that and settled at his desk to read the latest article on the success of _Duel Monsters Online_. _DMO Reaches Record Logins After First Day!_ the first article that popped up on his phone screamed. Ryou hummed in amusement at that and scrolled past it to find something less click-baity.

“Good morning, Bakura-kun!”

“Morning, Yuugi-kun,” Ryou replied, setting his phone aside. “How do you like _DMO_ so far?”

Yuugi beamed at him. “I’m really enjoying it! I’m so glad we get to fight Duel Monsters ourselves in such a well-constructed world! And it’s all thanks to Kaiba-kun!” Kaiba raised his head at the praise, but simply looked smug before returning to his book.

“Yeah, the game is really well-designed. It has a good mix of standard game mechanics and innovations. You’re probably a Wizard, right?”

“Yep! My character name is Sensube if you want to friend me.”

“I’m a Warrior called Toumaru! I’m gonna become the strongest Knight ever!” Jounouchi shouted from the doorway, swaggering past a glaring Kaiba. Ryou hid a smile at the CEO’s expression, wondering what he thought of Jounouchi’s ambitions.

“We should form a party sometime,” he suggested, getting enthusiastic approval from his classmates.

“Do you mind if I bring Anzu and Honda-kun along? They’re not used to these types of games, so I promised to show them the ropes,” Yuugi asked hesitantly, gripping the straps of his backpack.

“Not at all,” Ryou assured him. “A bigger party is better for some stuff, anyway.” They continued to chat until it was time for homeroom, and Ryou focused on the teacher with a renewed sense of excitement. He loved playing games with friends, and _DMO_ was the perfect place to do just that.

\- - -

His boots kicked up small dustclouds as Ryou walked down the trail leading to one of the dungeons bordering Tenba City. He had come back from lunch to find a note tucked nearly inside his desk. _Myaku,_ _Deep Glade, 7 P.M._ it had read, and he instantly knew who it was from. After all, only one person in the class knew his avatar’s name. The forest was dark and gloomy, the sun having set a half hour previously, and he seemed to be the only player around as he approached the dungeon’s entrance. Deep Glade was one of the starting dungeons, home to low-level monsters and easy quests, although rumours were already spreading that creepy monsters appeared after nightfall.

The mage stopped at the pair of tall pine trees that marked the entrance of the dungeon, and Kaiba stepped out of the shadows a moment later, armour glinting in the faint light. “You came,” he said flatly, looking Ryou over.

“Of course. Who am I to disobey a summons from the game master himself?” Ryou replied lightly, giving him a smile.

“Hmph.” Kaiba raised a hand and opened his menu, quickly sending a party invite. “Mage, level 10,” he said, reading aloud Ryou’s character information once he accepted the invite. “You’ve been busy.” Ryou just smiled. The top players had already reached level 20, but he wasn’t that ambitious – he had simply leveled up as he did the starting quests and explored the forest around Tenba.

“You know a good healing spell?”

“Yes.” The Mage class started with one basic healing spell, trap spell, and elemental magic spell, and could pick what new spell they wanted to learn from a list of choices every three levels afterwards. He had learned another healing spell upon reaching level 9, having chosen equip magic spells for the previous two choices. So unless Kaiba was taking on a quest well above either of their levels, he was prepared for anything.

“Good. Heal me when my health drops to thirty percent.” Turning on his heel, Kaiba strode into the shimmering air between the two pine trees and into the dungeon. Sighing and thinking that he was more than a walking healing spell, Ryou followed.

Most dungeons in the game were instanced, meaning that a new copy of a dungeon was generated whenever a new player or group entered, allowing them to explore and fight monsters without interference from other players. Deep Glade was one such dungeon, and so Ryou relaxed slightly as he fell into step behind Kaiba. No need to worry about arrogant players hassling him to group up because they needed a healer. Kaiba of all people knew that Mages were far more than mere healers, and Ryou planned on proving that once he was able to change classes.

As they walked down the twisting, overgrown path leading towards the glade that was their destination, he examined Kaiba’s equipment. As before, he wore a white trenchcoat with armour attached to the chest, arms and legs, but now a sword with an ornate sheath and hilt rested on his left hip.

“What’s your class?” Ryou asked, more in an effort to break the silence than anything else.

For a minute he thought Kaiba wouldn’t answer, and he frowned at the other’s back. Why had Kaiba invited him to party with him if they weren’t going to talk? He doubted the dungeon posed any real challenge to a single player, given its proximity to the starting city.

“Dragonmaster. It’s a unique class, only available to me.”

Of course it was. “Perk of being the game developer, huh? It must have a cool ability or two, then.”

“Yes.” Kaiba didn’t have time to elaborate on his answer because two fireballs suddenly sprang to life before him, lighting up the gloom with their crackling flames. Ryou stepped back as Kaiba drew his sword, recognizing the monsters to be Hinotama Souls, a weak monster in the card game. The Dragonmaster slashed as the first one rushed him, both attacks hitting at the same time and chipping some health off of each. The second fireball successfully rammed Kaiba, the latter blocking some of the damage with a raised arm.

A quick slash finished off of the first Hinotama Soul, and another exchange of blows ended the battle. Ryou gained a little exp from the fight, which was surprising considering he had just stood there.

The kept going, the trees becoming larger and more spread the further they went into the forest. More Hinotama Souls were encountered, and Ryou saw a significant boost to the exp he got after healing Kaiba during their fourth battle. He was halfway to level 11 now, and hopefully would hit level 12 by the end of the dungeon.

A faint rustle of leaves was all they got as a warning before something hit him from behind and knocked him down. The monster proceeded to bite him, his shoulder going numb as fangs dug into his skin. Kaiba spun around at his yell, lunging at the creature on Ryou’s back, but the monster blocked the blow with a giant claw.

Seeing that his health was rapidly diminishing, he took a breath and focused. “Earth Drain!” he called, the ground around him lighting up as a stream of energy flowed from the monster on his back into the soil. The monster screeched as its health was drained and transferred to Ryou, and Kaiba took the opportunity to attack. A high-pitched chime indicated a critical hit and the weight pinning him to the dirt suddenly vanished.

Getting up, he rubbed his shoulder, thankful that he had not set the pain level to mimic real life injuries. “What was it?” he asked as Kaiba looked him over, a slight frown on his face. Ryou gave him a smile to show that he was fine, and they started walking again.

“Man-Eater Bug. I didn’t realize they appeared so early.”

“You don’t know what monsters appear where?” That was an interesting tidbit that hadn’t been in any interviews, and he was surprised Kaiba was sharing it with him.

“Not all monsters, no. I set the locations of most of the major boss monsters, but everything else was left to the designers.”

“Hm, I suppose it wouldn’t be as fun to play if you knew where everything was...”

Kaiba’s tone was amused as he responded. “I’m surprised you understand.”

“I don’t just play Duel Monsters, you know. I love all types of games.” Ryou smiled at Kaiba’s back. “I really like tabletop games like Dungeons and Dragons – I’ve even played around with designing my own, just for fun. I could never do anything like this, though.”

Kaiba glanced back at him, the curve of his helmet casting his eyes in shadow. “Do you play chess?”

“Yeah. I haven’t played in a while, though.”

“I see.”

The branches above them creaked, and this time Ryou leaped backwards before the Man-Eater Bug could land on him. Kaiba dealt with it swiftly, then said, “We should be close to the boss.”

Ryou checked both of their health bars before nodding, satisfied that neither of them needed healing before taking on the boss. His magic bar was more than half full, and he had potions on hand in case he started to run low. Kaiba led the way, the path gradually widening before ending at a large clearing.

<Forest Glade – Withered Tree>

True to its name, the clearing was home to a massive dead tree, the leafless branches reaching high into the night sky. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up as he slowly advanced, unsettled by the peaceful-seeming area. Kaiba drew his sword and strode boldly to the middle of the clearing, gaze fixed on the tree. Ready. Waiting.

Something blue gleamed from a high branch, a shadow detaching itself with a snarl and dropping towards the Dragonmaster. “Legendary Sword!” Kaiba said, his sword glowing in response and changing to a double-edged crystal blade with a gold hilt. He swung the sword as the monster descended, its blade meeting the creature’s claws before they could reach him.

The monster flapped its wings and retreated to a low branch, hissing at them. Ryou focused on it, <Lord of the Glade – Dark Chimera> popping up along with a health bar a second later. Kaiba’s deflection had done some damage, he noted. The chimera took a deep breath and spit a fireball at Kaiba, which he neatly dodged, leaving a patch of scorched earth in his wake.

While the monster dove for another attack, Ryou cupped his free hand in front of him and murmured, “Dark Energy.” A small blue orb with designs in red and yellow on it appeared in his palm, and he smiled as a rush of energy went through him. Now he could get serious.

Chimes rang through the clearing as Kaiba and the Dark Chimera clashed, Ryou watching for an opening before calling, “Earth Drain!” Pointing his staff at Kaiba, he directed the healing energy to go to his companion as the monster screeched and faltered. Kaiba took the momentary pause the spell created to hit the Chimera with a combo attack, its health dropping rapidly.

The chimera spat another fireball at him, hitting the Dragonmaster full on, but Kaiba barely slowed as he kept attacking, not giving the monster time to retreat. The Dark Chimara lashed back with its claws and fangs, occasionally spitting another fireball at its opponent. Seeing that Kaiba’s health had dropped into the yellow zone, Ryou raised his staff. “Cure!” That brought his health back to near full, and it only took a few more attacks to finish the Dark Chimera.

Ryou smiled as the victory fanfare played, watching his level jump to 12, unlocking another spell option. Deciding to chose it later, he closed the menu as Kaiba walked back to him.

“Hmph. Not bad.”

Ryou smiled back, figuring that qualified as a compliment in Kaiba’s mind. “You did the hard work, though.”

Kaiba simply looked away. They stood in silence for a moment, the buzz of night insects suddenly filling the clearing. “I’ll contact you again.”

“I’ll be waiting.” Kaiba snorted before taking out a warp stone and warping away, Ryou following suit a moment later.


	2. Chapter 2

A week after defeating the Dark Chimera, Ryou logged in to find a message from Kaiba waiting in his inbox.

_Bow and Spear Inn, Room 5_

Rolling his eyes at Kaiba’s cryptic order, Ryou made his way over to the inn and to the appointed room, knocking twice before entering. Kaiba was seated at a table in front of the window, a chess board and figures arranged in front of him.

“You know, you can talk to me in class. Or we could meet after school,” Ryou said as he sat down, getting nothing but a disdainful snort and a gesture that indicated he had the first move. He studied the pieces for a moment, then moved a pawn two spaces forward. Kaiba countered by moving one of his pawns the same distance, and the game was on.

“I enjoyed the Dark Chimera quest we did. Are there any other quests you want to do that need a party?” Ryou asked, contemplating his next move.

“Several. A few in the forest, and one in the grassland.” Kaiba’s gaze flicked to him, studying the mage for a moment. “I hear a world boss might show up soon.”

“Really?! That’s fantastic!” He knew Kaiba was being deliberately vague on the details, and part of him wondered why his classmate was even telling him this, but Ryou shoved those thoughts aside and smiled.

More moves were made, and Ryou could tell he was going to lose. Kaiba was something of an expert on chess, after all. That predication quickly came true, and Kaiba smoothly reset the game board. Ryou watched him make the opening move, trying to analyze it the way he analyzed his players when running a tabletop game. Kaiba was doing all of this for a reason, he just had to figure out what it was.

\- - -

Winter break came and went and with it a winter-themed world boss, Kaiba surprising him and his friends by partying with them to help take it down. He had promptly handed several of his drops to Ryou, claiming that they didn’t suit his class and clashed with his outfit, and now Ryou was determined to pay him back. The obvious thing would be to buy a piece of armour or equipment that did do with Kaiba’s class, but since it was a unique one, the mage had no idea what that was.

He was poking through the contents of a spell vendor’s table when a shadow fell over him. Looking up, he found Kaiba standing beside him, staring at the scroll he held. “Good afternoon, Kaiba-san. Looking for new spells too?”

“Myaku.” Ryou blinked, surprised at the use of his avatar’s name. “That spell is for the Knight class.” Crap, he’d been caught.

“Is it?” He pretended to be surprised at the sight of the lance stamped onto the ribbon wrapped around the scroll, and set it down with a chuckle. “So it is.”

“If you want better spells, come with me.” Turning on his heel, Kaiba walked off, leaving no choice but for Ryou to follow. Kaiba led him through a maze of sidestreets and back alleys, finally pushing open a door tucked under an archway. Ryou gasped as he entered, pausing to take in the sight of the numerous vendors filling the long, low room. He had heard about the black market, but hadn’t been able to find it. Apparently, he should have just asked Kaiba.

He made a beeline for the closest stall, Kaiba trailing behind. Most of the spell were far too powerful for him to learn, but he did snap up Trap Hole and Curse of Darkness. “Are you going to buy anything, Kaiba-san?” he asked innocently, wandering over to the next vendor. “Or does the Dragonmaster class only learn unique spells at higher levels?” Ryou was approaching level 30, and he guessed Kaiba was as strong if not stronger.

“I have access to some unique spells,” Kaiba replied carefully, sounding suspicious. “Most of the others are Warrior class spells.” Ryou nodded, satisfied by his answer. The magic Kaiba had used against the winter world boss had been from the Warrior class or one of its related subclasses, which made sense, since the Dragonmaster was a melee attacker. No point learning a long range spell if you were going to be up in you’re opponent’s face.

However, Ryou also noted that Kaiba didn’t answer his first question, and so kept an eye out for any rare scrolls or equipment that a Warrior or Knight could use. He spotted a few, but the gold ribbon around them told him they were hideously expensive. Ah, the price of gratitude...

After picking up charm that would come in handy once he changed classes, he headed towards the door. Once outside, he turned to Kaiba. “I have some free time before dinner, do you want to do something?”

Kaiba blinked, seemingly surprised, but nodded. “There’s a rare drop in the grassland I want.”

“Let’s see if we can get it, then!” They formed a party, and Ryou smiled as he fell into step beside his classmate. It was always better to do stuff with friends, and although aloof at times, Kaiba wasn’t too bad to hang out with.

\- - -

“Let me get this straight: you’re hangin’ out with Kaiba? For fun?” Jounouchi scowled at Ryou from across the table. “How’s that even possible?”

“Bakura-kun doesn’t antagonize him, unlike _you_ ,” Anzu said as she set down their drinks and slid into the booth beside Ryou.

“Someone’s gotta bring him down a notch or two! He’s too stuck up for his own good!”

Yuugi smiled when Ryou rolled his eyes at him. “Is he as strong as he looked during the winter event?”

“Yes, he fights very well and has some powerful attacks.” Jounouchi grumbled something about _Kaiba built the game_ but Ryou ignore him. “I like to think we make a good team.”

He took a sip of his drink as Yuugi and Jounouchi launched into a debate over the merits of pure support versus mixed support in battle, looking over at Anzu when she sighed. “Too complicated for you?” They had partied together a few times and she had quickly grasped the basics of _DMO_ , but she was definitely not interested in the finer details of the game. Not that he blamed her – it was complex and there were some parts of it that confused him at times.

She smiled ruefully at him. “A little, yeah. I’m more interested in the upcoming Valentine's Day event.”

He brightened at that. “Yes, it sounds like it’ll be pretty exciting. New outfits and equipment, new spells and abilities, and probably a special boss or quest to complete.” Or several, knowing Kaiba.

“Any theories on what spells we might get?” Anzu was a Healer, and their classes shared many of the basic spells.

“Hmm...” He sipped his drink while he thought, half-listening to the continuing debate on the other side of the table. “Some sort of spell that charms the opponent seems likely, or perhaps something that causes Stun. The long-range classes will probably have an attacking ability based around targeting the heart, so we magic users might get something similar.”

“You’re nearly to level 30, right? Have you decided what you’ll change classes to?”

Anzu was looking at him with interest, but Ryou merely smiled and nodded. “I have, but you’ll have to wait and see.”

“That’s not fair! You know what I’m gonna be!” Jounouchi cut in.

“Only because you’ve been saying you’ll be a Knight ever since you starting playing!” Anzu shot back. Ryou and Yuugi shared a smile as another argument broke out, settling back to support their friends if needed.

\- - -

Ryou tipped the pile of wrapped chocolates out of his school bag before hanging it up, sighing at the sight. He didn’t mind chocolate, in fact he quite liked it, but getting a month’s worth if it all at once was a little irritating. Although he saw that he had gotten almost as much chocolate as Kaiba, so that had to count for something. Regardless, he wasn’t going to have any now, so he changed into casual clothes and logged in to _DMO_.

Tenba City was covered in red decorations, most of them heart-shaped and/or sparkling. Lots of players were online, many of them in pairs, so it took Ryou a while to find a quiet location. He ended up sitting in an alcove decorated with tiny silver heart-shaped lanterns, concluding the spot was out of the way enough that other players probably wouldn’t bother him. Once settled, he opened his menu and browsed the announcements related to the Valentine’s Day event. Most of the new items gave a small stat boost, which was then doubled if the player was in a party. Useful, he supposed, but the hardcore solo players were no doubt upset. Then again, they were always upset about something.

A small chime alerted him that Kaiba had come online, so he switched to his inbox and sent a short message.

_Thanks again for the winter event drops. Don’t eat all of that chocolate at once!_

Attached to the message was an rare ability scroll for the Knight class called Dragon’s Rage he had found in the black market Kaiba had shown him. It had taken a lot of grinding, but he had saved up enough gold to afford it, and he was pleased he could repay his debt so quickly.

Ryou went back to reading about the event, and was deep in a forum thread debating the best way to take down one of the new event bosses that had spawned when a blinding light directed in front of him made him yelp and recoil. Blinking away the spots in his vision, he looked back to find Kaiba standing before him, arms crossed and trademark scowl in place.

“Er....good evening?” He he upset Kaiba with the joke at the end of his message?

“What. Is. This?” Kaiba spoke deliberately as he shoved the Dragon’s Rage scroll at the mage.

Ryou stared at it for a moment, puzzled. “It’s my thanks for giving me the drops from the winter event boss. They could be used by any class – you certainly could have benefited from them.”

“They were a gift,” Kaiba said stiffly, gaze locked on one of the lanterns over Ryou’s shoulder. Like the final piece of a puzzle, everything fell into place. Kaiba _liked_ him.

“For which I am very appreciative,” he said softly, trying to process the sudden realization. “Then consider that scroll a gift from me to you. It’s more useful than chocolate, right?”

A hint of a smile flickered across Kaiba’s face. “Indeed.” The Dragonmaster returned the scroll to his inventory and shifted so he was not-quite-looking at Ryou. “Have you done any of the new events?”

“No, I just logged on a few minutes ago. I was thinking of doing The Maiden’s Heart event, but it requires two people...” He thought Kaiba might scoff at such a silly event, since it was a glorified fetch quest, but instead he nodded briskly.

“If we hurry, we can complete it before the Tag Duels start.”

Ryou quickly stood up at that. “You want to duel with me?” He wasn’t surprised that Kaiba knew he dueled, but he was surprised that he wanted Ryou to be his partner in such a public venue.

“Obviously.” Kaiba snorted and set out at a quick walk. “We’ll align our decks before the matches.”

“Sure.” Ryou fell into step alongside him. “So, will you change classes?”

“Not yet.” So he was in the process of designing one. Ryou wondered how Kaiba was going to top Dragonmaster for a name, but figured he’d come up with something even more pretentious. “I already know what you’re choosing.”

“Cheater,” Ryou replied lightly. His choice had been obvious as soon as he saw the class requirements: Necromancer.

 


End file.
